Ed Sheeran Used Loop Pedal, Not Backing Track at Glastonbury 2017

Ed Sheeran played the biggest nighttime show of his career on Sunday (June 25) when he headlined the Glastonbury festival in the UK. But the singer took some heat following his festival when members of the audience accused him of using a backing track during his performance. In actuality, Sheeran was using a loop pedal, which allowed one guitar segment to repeat while he played another one and it’s a process he has used for a long time, but apparently, not everyone knows that.

“Think it would have given a better atmosphere if Ed Sheeran had employed a band instead of a backing track?” one festivalgoer wrote on Twitter.

Hours later, Sheeran clarified the situation on social media. “Never thought I’d have to explain it, but everything I do in my live show is live, it’s a loop station, not a backing track,” he wrote, before adding that he had a great night.

Sheeran’s set included a mash-up of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” reported NME, Before he took the stage, he told the BBC that his set at Glastonbury 2017 was “the biggest nighttime slot that I’ve done.”